OMAHA, Neb. – The Monday night winner’s bracket matchup between LSU and UCLA was suspended after three innings due to weather with LSU leading 5-3.
The game will resume Tuesday morning with a first pitch at 11:03 EDT with UCLA’s Peyton Brennan leading off the top of the fourth for the Bruins.
UCLA’s first three batters reached base, and Roman Martin hit a one-out double that scored Roch Cholowski for a 1-0 Bruins lead. AJ Salgado followed with a single that scored Mulivai Levu, and Payton Brennan’s grounder back to the mound scored Martin, making it 3-0.
With one out in the bottom half of the first, LSU became uncaged, getting three successive singles from Ethan Frey, Steven Milam, and Jake Brown to load the bases for Jared Jones. The Tigers’ No. 5 hitter quickly erased the memory of going 0-for-5 with five strikeouts in the opener against Arkansas, hitting a high fly ball to right field that carried and carried, landing just above the yellow home run line for a grand slam and a 4-3 lead.
In the bottom of the third, LSU added another when Luis Hernandez’ RBI single scored Ethan Frey.
Before the on-field promotions could start between innings, a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the area, and the tarp came out at 7:20 p.m. local time.
And then, the rains came. Steady rain fell on Charles Schwab Field, with significant lightning until approximately 9:40 p.m. local time. At 10:13 p.m. local time, with the rain still falling, the NCAA announced that the game would resume on Tuesday.
Despite the suspension of the game between LSU and UCLA, the schedule for Tuesday’s games has not changed. Louisville will face Oregon State in an elimination game at 2 p.m. EDT, and Arkansas will face the winner of the game between LSU and UCLA at 7 p.m. EDT tomorrow.
Photo: The tarp went on the field for a weather delay at 7:20 p.m. with the LSU Tigers leading the UCLA Bruins 5-3. (Photo via @LSUBaseball on X)
